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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pop — music
  8. hand — help
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hand — in cards
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pop — soda

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com